Written Answers Tuesday 10 January 2006

Scottish Executive

Bridges

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was raised in toll revenue on the (a) Tay Road Bridge and (b) Erskine Bridge in each of the last five years.

Tavish Scott: Revenue raised from toll charges at the Tay Road Bridge is a matter for Tay Road Bridge Joint Board.

  Revenue raised by toll charges at the Erskine Bridge is detailed in the Erskine Bridge Accounts 2000-01 to 2004-05, copies of which are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 24147, 25778, 30370, 34771 and 38449 respectively).

Bridges

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on the maintenance and upkeep of the (a) Tay Road Bridge and (b) Erskine Bridge in each of the last five years, broken down by funding source.

Tavish Scott: Spending on the maintenance and upkeep of the Tay Road Bridge, and funding of that expenditure, are matters for Tay Road Bridge Joint Board.

  Expenditure on the Erskine Bridge is detailed in the Erskine Bridge Accounts 2000-01 to 2004-05, copies of which are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 24147, 25778, 30370, 34771 and 38449 respectively). Funding for the bridge is provided from the Scottish Executive’s Transport programme.

Bridges

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of expenditure of toll revenue raised on the (a) Tay Road Bridge and (b) Erskine Bridge in each of the last five years.

Tavish Scott: Details of tolling revenue and expenditure at the Tay Road Bridge are matters for Tay Road Bridge Joint Board.

  Revenue raised by toll charges at the Erskine Bridge is credited to the Scottish Executive’s Transport programme, which funds the maintenance, management and operation of the bridge. Details are set out in the Erskine Bridge Accounts 2000-01 to 2004-05, copies of which are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 24147, 25778, 30370, 34771 and 38449 respectively).

Bridges

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what procedure was used to raise the capital required to build the (a) Tay Road Bridge and (b) Erskine Bridge.

Tavish Scott: Details of the capital funding associated with the construction of the Tay Road Bridge is a matter for Tay Road Bridge Joint Board.

  The costs of constructing the Erskine Bridge were met from the then Scottish Office Transport programme.

Bridges

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive at what date accumulated toll revenue covered the capital building costs of the (a) Tay Road Bridge and (b) Erskine Bridge.

Tavish Scott: Details of capital costs and tolling revenue associated with the Tay Road Bridge are matters for Tay Road Bridge Joint Board.

  The costs of constructing the Erskine Bridge were met from the then Scottish Office Transport programme. Tolling revenue is therefore not offset against the construction costs, but funds the on-going maintenance, management and operation of the bridge.

Community Planning

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many voluntary or private sector representatives there are on the Community Planning Implementation Group.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Community Planning Implementation Group was set up in April 2003 for twelve months to take forward the recommendations of the Community Planning Task Force. The group completed its duties with the publication of its report, Making a Difference - Community Planning A Year On, in June 2004. Details of membership of the Group are given on page 15 of the report, a copy of which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 33200) and on the Scottish Executive’s internet site ( www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/finance/cpayo-00.asp ).

Environment

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much naturally occurring radioactive materials waste, in kilograms, has been generated by the oil industry and stored at sites in Scotland in each year since 1999.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many shipping movements involving naturally occurring radioactive materials waste from Scottish oil establishments have taken place in each year since 1999.

Ross Finnie: This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has responsibility for licensing the disposal and storage of radioactive waste from the Scottish oil industry under the terms of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993.

Environment

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what licensing arrangements it has in place in respect of the storage of naturally occurring radioactive materials waste in Scottish oil establishments.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has responsibility for licensing the disposal and storage of radioactive waste from the Scottish oil industry under the terms of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993.

Environment

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of contamination of naturally occurring radioactive materials waste there have been at Scottish oil installations in each year since 1995.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many contamination incidents involving radium 226 and 228 have occurred at oil installations in the last 15 years, broken down by site.

Ross Finnie: This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has responsibility for licensing the disposal and storage of radioactive waste from the Scottish oil industry under the terms of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993. Failure to comply with the terms of the authorisation would result in enforcement action from the agency.

International Development

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-17131 by Patricia Ferguson on 16 June 2005, whether it has given further consideration to developing links between Blantyre in Malawi and Blantyre in Scotland.

Patricia Ferguson: As I stated in the answer to question S2W-17131, the Scottish Executive encourages the establishment of links between Scotland and Malawi and through the International Development Fund, has supported a range of organisations to work with Malawi. Details of International Development Fund supported projects are available on the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/News-Extras/intdevfundnov2005 .

  However, the impetus for taking forward these initiatives is very much based on the wishes of local communities and it is for those communities, rather than the Scottish Executive, to decide whether to pursue this.

  To date, no applications to develop links between Blantyre in Scotland and Blantyre in Malawi have been received although I am aware that some bodies have long-standing links, such as the Rotary Club of Blantyre, which has been committed to supporting the education of students in Blantyre Malawi for 15 years.

People with Disabilities

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what priority is given to assisting disabled people in the (a) privately-rented and (b) owner-occupied housing sector.

Malcolm Chisholm: Local authorities have a duty under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 to assess the needs of people and decide, in the light of the assessment, whether they should arrange any services and, if so, which services. Any decision taken by the local authority’s social work department should be based on a detailed assessment of a person’s care needs taking his or her wishes into account. However, local authorities are also expected to ensure that the resources available are used in the most effective way to meet individual care needs.

  Assistance to owners of private sector housing to make their houses suitable for the needs of disabled occupants is given mainly by local authorities through housing improvement grants, funded by Private Sector Housing Grant (PSHG) from the Scottish Executive. Adaptations for disabled people, along with improving houses which fall below the tolerable standard, are ministerial priorities which are taken into account in assessing local authorities’ proposals for PSHG expenditure. It is for local authorities to set local priorities, and information on the priority accorded to privately-rented and owner-occupied housing is not held centrally.

Scottish Executive Websites

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what websites it has created in each year from 1999-2000 to 2005-06; how much each site cost to create, and how many visitors there have been to each site (a) since its creation, (b) in 2004-05 and (c) in 2005-06.

Tom McCabe: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.